


broadcast your feelings

by itsnotgillian



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Journalism, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, minor gyuhao, there's a very brief mention of it so no need to worry, they'll appear more in the following chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-08-30 20:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8548549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsnotgillian/pseuds/itsnotgillian
Summary: Being a journalist, Jihoon says it as it is. Seungcheol, on the other hand, relies on sugarcoated words to do the work.(Or, a Jicheol journalist AU)





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

> this work is inspired by the wonderful k-drama, pinocchio.
> 
> also, thank you so much to ao3 user [blehgah](http://archiveofourown.org/users/blehgah) for being a very helpful and insightful beta!! i owe you a lot ;;

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon hates paradoxes or anything self-contradictory. 
> 
> So he hates Choi Seungcheol.

Jihoon is fully convinced that Seungcheol is the perfect example of a human paradox.

To him, Seungcheol possesses every trait that he despises in a human being: unbelievably cheeky with his words, overly friendly, and prone to excessive skinship—even to people he’s not close with. He pesters everyone in the reporter’s room, asking around if they have any useful information he can use. 

However, this is what makes Seungcheol so unbelievably great at the same time. He’s persistent, and all the hand-holding and side hugs he gives, paired with his undeniable charm, is what causes more than half of his fellow rookie journalists to let their guard down, resulting in them telling him every piece of information they’ve gathered. They think they’ve found a friend in him, someone who’ll return the favor.

“What is it about him that you hate so much?” Mingyu asks, settling in the seat beside Jihoon. They’re in the police station’s lobby, notepads and phones ready in case something comes up. 

“What?” Jihoon tears his eyes away from Seungcheol, who is currently chatting up another one of their colleagues near the front desk. He’s standing barely a foot away from her, occasionally bringing his hand up to touch her shoulder. 

“Seungcheol-hyung,” Mingyu clarifies. “You’re staring at him as if you want to murder him.” Mingyu smiles at that. “I wouldn’t mind if you did, though. Gives me something to report about to Cap.” 

Jihoon looks back and sneers at the scene in front of him. _Can Seungcheol get any greasier?_  

“He acts as if he owns the place. As if everyone owes him the information they have. It’s lazy work, if you ask me.” Jihoon sighs, flipping through his own notepad. “Why can’t he just get them himself, like a normal reporter would?” 

Mingyu shifts around in his seat, trying to get into a comfortable position. “That’s exactly what he’s doing.” He pokes Jihoon with his pen. “It’s his strategy. He’s a naturally friendly guy, so he uses that to get his way around.” 

Jihoon rolls his eyes. He admits that he’s done some pretty questionable things in order to get a worthwhile scoop, but Seungcheol’s so-called “strategy” is becoming a habit. A really bad one, in Jihoon’s opinion. 

“I still think it’s gonna come bite him in the ass one day.” Jihoon crosses his arms, occupying himself with watching the door for anyone important coming in. So far today, it’s only been journalists and the police officers that work there. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

“I think you’re doing the biting well enough,” Mingyu comments, elbowing Jihoon’s arm. “Your constant complaining hasn’t entirely escaped his notice.” 

Jihoon scowls. “Did you tell him?” 

“No. I don’t have any reason to,” Mingyu points out. “Besides, you’re an open book. Anyone can take one look at you and know what you’re feeling.”

Jihoon’s frown grows even deeper, and Mingyu bursts out laughing.

“See? You couldn’t keep a secret even if you tried.”

“Yes, I can,” Jihoon insists. “I keep lots of secrets.” 

Mingyu snorts, shaking his head. “And that time you stole the food my sister brought for me isn’t one of them.”

“How—“

Just then, two officers rush out from the office, quickly pulling on their vests as they go. Jihoon immediately stands, ready to question the remaining officers and detectives in the station. 

“What do you think it is?” Mingyu asks, pulling his phone out of his pocket and opening the voice-recording app. 

“I have no idea, but I think it’s something serious.”

Jihoon runs towards the inner rooms of the station, Mingyu not far behind. He pulls the door to the detectives’ office open and the loud ringing of office phones and the detectives’ raised voices are the first things to register in Jihoon’s mind.. Jihoon approaches Detective Kang, a young detective who he’s gotten particularly close with, and asks what happened. 

“A lot of students and teachers of this high school are calling in to report an assault,” Detective Kang hurriedly explains. He doesn’t even spare Jihoon and Mingyu a single look as he furiously types away on his computer.

“At their school?” Mingyu asks initially suspicious. “Are you sure this isn’t one of your usual schoolyard fist fights?”

Detective Kang shakes his head. “The attacker is one of their students, and the person he beat up is his teacher.”

Jihoon lets out a breath. He can hear the other reporters running in, but he pays them no attention. 

“Do you have the names of the people involved?” Jihoon addresses Detective Kang, his pen poised over his notepad, ready to take down notes. 

“The student is Kim Kyungjun and his teacher is Ahn Jinwoo. The details aren’t clear as of now, but the teacher’s being rushed to the hospital. He took quite a beating. I heard his whole face was busted. They’re bringing in the student here.” Detective Kang pauses for a moment and looks around the room. “That’s why everyone seems to be losing their shit. It’s not everyday you see a student lose his shit with a teacher like that. This is serious; it’s a crime against a person in authority.”

Jihoon takes note of everything, quickly scribbling down a few lines before bowing.

“Thank you. When do you think we can start questioning the student?”

“After we interrogate him. That could be any time from today until tomorrow. Depends on how easily he’s going to give us answers,” Kang answers.

“Alright, thank you again.” Jihoon and Mingyu bow one last time before leaving the room. 

“I’ve only been on the job for a month and nothing like this has ever happened,” Mingyu muses, pocketing his notepad. “Most of the things I’ve reported on are robberies and updates on which vegetables are in season.” 

Jihoon sighs. “There’s a first for everything.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll call Cap. Go put your visuals to good use and ask around for any additional info.” 

“Is that the closest thing to a compliment I’m gonna get from you?” Mingyu grins wide enough for his canines to show.

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “Stop flirting with me, Mingyu. I’m not interested.” Jihoon walks past Mingyu and heads for the reporters’ room. 

“Who said I was interested in _you_?” Mingyu calls out as Jihoon walks further down the hallway. “Your name’s not Xu Minghao, so stop dreaming!”

Jihoon laughs to himself as he dials Captain Hwang’s number. The line rings once before Captain Hwang answers in his usual clipped voice. 

“This better be good,” Captain Hwang says without a hitch. Jihoon bites back a remark and instead leans against the wall right outside the reporters’ room.

“There’s been a report of an assault at a high school,” Jihoon begins. “Student Kim Kyungjun apparently attacked his homeroom teacher Ahn Jinwoo, who sustained serious injuries to his face and is now currently recovering at the hospital. Kyungjun will be brought here for questioning and detainment.”

“That’s all?” Captain Hwang asks. “I need more specific details if we’re going to report this by tonight.”

Jihoon massages the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. “The officers here don’t know much, either. We’ll try to dig in a little deeper before tonight’s program.”

“You better. Get me that information, and get it fast. I want you to report on this tonight. Be at the studio at nine.”

“Me?” Jihoon’s eyes go wide. “But—“ 

 _Beep._  

Jihoon clicks his tongue in annoyance before shoving his phone inside his pocket. He sighs in resignation and turns to open the door to the reporters’ room, immediately stopping when he sees Seungcheol sitting amongst the heap of comforters and blankets strewn across the floor.

“Hi,” Seungcheol greets, smiling up at Jihoon.

“Hey.” Jihoon shuts the door behind him and slips out of his shoes, picking up a hot packs from the desk before holding it against his neck.

Seungcheol opens a bag of honey butter chips. “So, what happened?” 

“Shouldn’t you be finding that out for yourself?” Jihoon doesn’t even try hiding the annoyance on his face. “That’s your _job_.” 

“This is me doing my job.” Seungcheol shrugs. 

“I’m not telling you shit,” Jihoon bites back. 

Seungcheol chuckles and Jihoon wants to shove the hot pack up Seungcheol’s arrogant ass. 

“You really don’t know how to work your way around this sort of career, do you?” Seungcheol pulls his phone out and scrolls. “In journalism, you need a touch of showmanship.” Seungcheol looks at Jihoon. “I’m not saying you should lie to the public, but to get the information you need, a little acting can go a long way.” 

“Sorry,” Jihoon practically sneers. “I don’t have any showmanship. That’s why I rely solely on integrity.” 

“And also,” Jihoon continues, “are you admitting that you’re just pretending to be nice to everyone?”

“No.” Seungcheol casually eats his chips. “I really am nice, I swear. But if it were up to me, I wouldn’t be sucking up this much to half of these people here.” 

“I still don’t get why you think it’s okay to be a freeloader.” Jihoon settles himself in the corner farthest away from Seungcheol, his joints cracking as he stretches his limbs. 

“Do you really think I get all my information from you guys?” Seungcheol raises an eyebrow. “You don’t see it, but I go around asking officers about reported incidents, too, you know.” Seungcheol opens another bag of chips and offers it to Jihoon. Jihoon just shakes his head. 

“But I don’t stop there,” Seungcheol continues. “I verify the story, see if everyone’s details are consistent. Sometimes they aren’t, and I pick up something new each time. Then, after some time, I get back to the officers and ask if the new pieces of information are true, then I create my report from there.” 

“ _That’s_ how you investigate,” Seungcheol concludes. “Although, our Captain still gives me as much shit as everyone else. I’m no one special.”

Jihoon looks at Seungcheol, both impressed and slightly intimidated. Frankly, Jihoon doesn’t have a comeback for what Seungcheol just said, but it’s a good thing that Mingyu decides to burst into the room right at that moment, whining about his back aching. 

“Oh, Seungcheol-hyung, hi,” Mingyu greets. He spots Jihoon on the other side of the room and instantly questions him. “Jihoon-hyung, what are you doing here?” 

“Resting. I sat in the lobby for three hours straight without so much as a bathroom break. I deserve to lie down.” 

Mingyu stares for a while before shrugging. “Cap can sense us resting, you know. The last time both of us decided to take a break at the same time, he called me and yelled for five minutes straight.” 

“Let’s hope he calls you again,” Jihoon says, pulling a blanket over himself. “Oh, yeah, did you get anything else?” Jihoon eyes Seungcheol warily, but he knows nothing can stop Seungcheol from prying into their conversation.

“Yeah, actually. I called Cap to report about it, but nothing’s confirmed until we actually get to talk to this kid.” Mingyu pulls his notepad out and reads. “Apparently, the reason for the attack had something to do with the student’s grades.” Mingyu looks up. “I guess he got a bad mark or something.” 

“Yikes,” Jihoon grimaces. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think? I mean, bad marks are normal for almost any student.” 

“Maybe he’s one of those overachievers?” Mingyu wonders. Jihoon shrugs, pulling the blanket tighter around him. 

“Whatever it is, I should go find out,” Seungcheol butts in all of a sudden. “Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in once I know.” 

Jihoon snickers as if he doesn’t believe it, but Mingyu actually thanks Seungcheol.

“I should treat you to lunch one of these days,” Mingyu offers. 

Seungcheol smiles really widely. “I’m counting on it.” 

Seungcheol exits the room and the two of them are left alone. 

“One of us should stay awake in case the student comes in,” Mingyu reminds Jihoon, taking out two more hot packs from his bag. “Or in case Cap calls.” 

Jihoon rolls over onto his side so his back is facing Mingyu. “Sure. I’ll sleep, you take watch.” 

The last thing Jihoon hears before he falls asleep is the sound of Mingyu groaning in complaint.

 

` 

 

“Hyung, hyung, wake up. Kim Kyungjun is here.”

Jihoon wakes with a start, and the first thing he sees is Mingyu’s face hovering above him. 

“Come on, we need to be the first ones to talk to him after the police.” Mingyu pulls at Jihoon’s arm. Jihoon has barely any time to put on his shoes and collect his things before Mingyu is dragging him out of the reporters’ room. 

“After this, you can go take a shower and get ready for your broadcast. It’s already six in the evening, barely three hours before we can get this story over to Cap.” 

Both of them are running by now, and Jihoon has to blink to fight the last of his drowsiness away. 

“How’d you know I’d be broadcasting tonight?” Jihoon asks as they arrive outside the interrogation room. To their annoyance, Seungcheol and his partner, Soonyoung, are already there, engaged in a discussion with Detective Kang.

“I can only allow a maximum of thirty minutes for you to talk to him. After that, he’s done for the day. We still need him for our own investigation, and we can’t have him burned out from all the talking.” Detective Kang stares the two of them down. He notices Jihoon and Mingyu standing there and he gives both of them a curt nod. 

“Wait, did you just say thirty minutes?” Jihoon asks. “There are about a dozen reporters assigned to this station and thirty minutes won’t cut it for all of us.” 

Detective Kang just shrugs. “Figure it out yourself. I have paperwork to finish, so hurry up and decide how you’re going to do this.” 

Jihoon sneaks a peek behind him, and sure enough, the rest of the reporters are starting to crowd, all of them talking and sharing information among themselves. Jihoon curses under his breath. 

“How about a few reporters go in at the same time and just share what they have once they’re done?” Soonyoung suggests. By this time, the newly arrived reporters are starting to ask whether they can talk to the student or not.

“Define ‘a few’,” Mingyu says.

“I don’t know, half of us, maybe?” 

“That’s too many for half an hour.” Seungcheol shakes his head. “I say only two of us go in.” 

“That’s unfair,” Jihoon points out. A few of his colleagues agree. 

“I never said it would be me and Soonyoung,” Seungcheol counters. “You and me. Is that fair enough?”

Jihoon is stunned into momentary silence, unable to reply.

Detective Kang cuts in before Jihoon can say anything: “Hurry up. We can’t keep him out too long.” 

Jihoon nods hurriedly, ignoring the complaints from the other reporters. Detective Kang reaches for the doorknob and unlocks the door, opening it so there’s just enough space for Seungcheol and Jihoon to pass through.

“I’ll be behind the mirror. Just signal when you’re done,” Detective Kang reminds the both of them.

“Don’t keep anything to yourselves!” Mingyu calls out.

“Share your blessings,” says a person behind Mingyu. 

Jihoon and Seungcheol step inside and the door immediately closes behind them. Right there, sitting at one side of a metal table, is a typical-looking high school student. The only thing out of the ordinary is his bruised and bloodied hands, resting atop the table.

Kang Kyungjun looks up at both of them, and Jihoon is surprised to see tears in his eyes. 

Seungcheol walks over to one of the vacant chairs opposite Kyungjun before taking a seat. Jihoon follows suit. 

“Aren’t you going to get those cleaned up?” Seungcheol asks, pointing at Kyungjun’s hands with his pen. 

“They said I’d get medical treatment after interrogation,” Kyungjun’s asnwers quietly, any trace of hostility absent from his voice. 

Jihoon looks over at Seungcheol and Seungcheol looks back. Jihoon means to ask which one of them should start, but Kyungjun beats both of them to it. 

“I know what you’re going to ask.” Kyungjun sighs. “I did it because he wouldn’t give me the grade I needed to get into the university I wanted.”

Jihoon’s eyebrows knit together. “But did you have to go that far?” Jihoon opens the interrogation carefully, briefly glancing at the side to see Seungcheol writing on his notepad. Jihoon pulls his phone out, places it on the table and presses ‘record’. 

“He ruined all of my chances into getting into a good university,” Kyungjun pressed on. “I’ve been losing sleep for the past year just so I can pass all my exams, but a measly grade is all I got from him.” 

“Universities don’t matter in the long run,” Seungcheol says. “What’s important is that you work hard enough to reach your goals.” 

Kyungjun shakes his head and Jihoon’s afraid that the boy might start crying. “My parents wanted me to go to this particular university. It’s the only thing they asked of me.”

Jihoon bites his lip as he studies Kyungjun. If he’s being honest, he doesn’t see a criminal. He sees a scared young man with dreams and aspirations, who wanted nothing more than to please his parents. But even that can’t excuse what he’s done. 

“Do you think they asked for _this_?” Seungcheol asks. Jihoon turns to Seungcheol and sees genuine concern in the latter’s eyes. Jihoon’s kind of relieved to know that they’re on the same page, at least. 

Kyungjun hangs his head. “No.” 

“Have your parents been notified?” Jihoon questions. 

“Yes.” 

“Have you talked to them?” Seungcheol adds. 

“No. I really want to, though.”

“I’m sure they’ll let you see them later,” Seungcheol offers reassuringly. Jihoon starts to think that this interrogation is turning out to be more of a shrink session. 

There’s a short stretch of silence as Seungcheol pauses to write down on his notepad. 

“I think that’s all we need for now.” Seungcheol looks over at the mirror installed on one side of the room and nods before standing up. Jihoon stops the recording on his phone and gets on his feet as well. 

“Thank you.” Seungcheol reaches over and gives Kyungjun’s shoulder a squeeze. The boy doesn’t say anything. 

Jihoon hears the lock click and Detective Kang peeks in. Seungcheol nods and heads towards the door.

“You can come back from this.” Jihoon surprises himself at what he says. “I know you’re scared. It’s okay. Sometimes, fear is what keeps us grounded.” 

Jihoon follows Seungcheol out the door and immediately breathes a sigh of relief. 

Both of them turn to Detective Kang and bow in thanks. Seungcheol turns to Jihoon just as Detective Kang steps back inside the interrogation room. 

“That must’ve been the most emotionally draining thing I’ve ever done,” Seungcheol grouses as he rubs the back of his neck. 

“Yeah,” Jihoon agrees. He definitely feels like he needs to sit down and stare into space for a good hour or so just to shake off the feeling of dread creeping into his chest.

“Do you want to get some drinks later? Just to lighten the mood a little bit.” Seungcheol looks at him hopefully and Jihoon’s first response is to turn him down, but the more he thinks about it, the more he’s convinced that he probably needs it.

“Sure.” Jihoon nods. “But I’ll be reporting this story tonight on our program, so I might finish a bit later than usual.” Jihoon tilts his head. “You wouldn’t mind waiting up for me, do you?”

Seungcheol laughs. “No, I wouldn’t.” Seungcheol reaches over and lightly hits Jihoon on the arm. “Bring Mingyu along if you want. I’ll invite a few other people, too.” 

Jihoon nods, and just as he’s about to walk back towards the lobby, Mingyu comes bounding down the hallway wearing his backpack and his notepad in hand.

“Jihoon-hyung! I got to talk with Kyungjun’s parents in the office. I also called Cap and said you were interrogating Kyungjun. He says we should get to the company as soon as possible.” Mingyu bends over to catch his breath. Jihoon shoots him a confused look. 

“’We?’ He wants both of us at the office?” 

“Yeah,” Mingyu confirms. “He wants me to write your script.” 

“Look at you guys, getting all the big jobs.” Seungcheol pats both of them on the back. He winks over at Jihoon. “I’ll make sure to watch your broadcast.” 

Jihoon rolls his eyes and shrugs Seungcheol’s hand off. “Don’t you have to report back to your own Captain?” 

Without even waiting for an answer, Jihoon takes Mingyu by the arm and pulls him down the hall and back into the lobby. 

“It’s gonna be my first time to report on TV,” Jihoon declares, shooting Mingyu a look. “Make my script a good one.” 

 

` 

 

“I’m not kidding! You were seriously so cool on TV,” Seungcheol says, pouring Jihoon another shot of soju. “You were so serious and your aura was—wow. Just wow. Amazing.” 

Jihoon shakes his head, but he can’t help but laugh, the alcohol already taking its effect on him. 

“I’ll be waiting for _you_ to be on TV. I’ll be your biggest fucking fan.” Jihoon teases, laughing one more time before downing his drink. He immediately pops a piece of egg roll into his mouth to chase away the burn of soju from his mouth. 

Seungcheol narrows his eyes. “Are you being sarcastic with me right now, Lee Jihoon?” 

“Of course I am.” Jihoon eats another egg roll, totally oblivious to the look Seungcheol is giving him.

“What happened to bringing Mingyu along?”

Jihoon snorts so hard, he swears he feels pieces of the egg roll getting sucked up his nose.

“He wanted to spend time with Minghao doing god knows what.” Jihoon finally looks up at Seungcheol, his own eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“What happened to inviting other people?” 

Seungcheol holds his hands up as if he got caught doing something illegal. “I lied. I wanted it to just be the two of us.”

“ _Why?_ ” 

“Because you’re the only one I haven’t gotten close to.”

Jihoon’s nose scrunches up. “Creep.” 

“I prefer the term ‘friendly’, thank you very much.”

“In all honesty, though, I should be the one thanking you,” Jihoon says as he pours Seungcheol a drink. “I haven’t had anyone treat me in a long time.”

“This is interesting,” Seungcheol observes. “Just hours ago, you were practically badmouthing me.”

Jihoon uses the soju bottle in his hand to point at Seungcheol. “I can still badmouth you if I want to.” 

Seungcheol nods as if he fully understands before smiling brightly at Jihoon. 

“Let’s be friends, yeah? Drinking with you’s fun. I’d like to do it more often.”

Jihoon blinks but nods a moment later. 

“Same here.”

Seungcheol smiles after hearing this, effectively showing off a pair of dimples Jihoon failed to notice before, which leads him to think that maybe Choi Seungcheol wasn’t so much of a paradox, after all. 


	2. two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I always had fun waiting for that balance to tip over. For the sun to finally rise and peek over all the tall buildings.” 
> 
> “Turns out, it’s much more fun when I’m with somebody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aahhh sorry for taking so long ;; i got super busy :(
> 
> but anyways, here is chapter two!!
> 
> much thanks to raine once again <3

“Oh my god, did you actually go home and _shower_?” Mingyu cries out once he sees Jihoon walk into the reporters’ room. Mingyu is currently occupying the top bunk of the rickety double decker that was situated at one corner of the room, and his initial surprise causes him to hit his head on the ceiling with a a yelp of pain.

Jihoon could only snicker and watch in mild amusement. “As a matter of fact, yes, I did. I even took a nap back at my apartment, but don’t tell Cap about that. I mean, you can’t expect me to just walk back in here while reeking of alcohol.” Teasingly, Jihoon adds, “How many times has that happened in the past month that you’ve been here?”

“Honestly? I’ve lost count.” Mingyu grimaces as he rubs at his head. He pauses for a moment and turns to Jihoon. “Oh, yeah, how was the date?”

“ _Date_?” Jihoon splutters before laughing. “That wasn’t a date. Seriously, Mingyu. Seungcheol? No fucking way.”

“Really?” Mingyu asks. He has this look on his face as if someone had just presented him a complex math problem to solve. “I could’ve sworn the two of you were getting close.”

“Please,” Jihoon grouses, rolling his eyes. “We did an interrogation together and decided to drink right after to lighten the mood a bit. Don’t read too deep into it.”

Mingyu shrugs. “I can’t help it. You were practically shooting heart eyes at him when I found you outside the interrogation room.”

“I was _not_ ,” Jihoon says a little too loudly. He grabs a stray hot pack lying around and flings it at Mingyu. The latter’s hand jerks up to deflect it just before it hits his face.

“You violent asshole,” Mingyu curses. “You could’ve blinded me.”

Before Jihoon could reply, the door behind him opens. Jihoon turns just in time to see Xu Minghao’s head peek in.

“Mingyu?” Minghao calls out.

His eyes meet Jihoon’s and Minghao immediately straightens up before bowing. “Hello, Jihoon-ssi.”

Jihoon smiles politely at Minghao. “You don’t really have to do that. Just call me hyung.”

Minghao returns the expression and nods. “Sure, hyung.” Minghao glances over at Mingyu before turning back to Jihoon.

“I’m sorry I only got coffee for Mingyu and I,” Minghao apologizes, gesturing at the cardboard cup holder in his hand. “I didn’t know you’d be back so soon.”

“It’s fine,” Jihoon reassures Minghao with a light pat on his arm. Jihoon turns to Mingyu, who, up until now, had been watching the exchange with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

“Is he always this polite?” Jihoon jokingly asks.

“To everyone except me,” Mingyu grumbles as he sticks his lower lip out at Minghao.

Jihoon faces Minghao and gives him the subtlest of winks. “I see you’re doing your job well enough.”

Minghao giggles and thanks Jihoon before moving to where Mingyu is.

“Oh, yeah,” Minghao adds, turning back to Jihoon. “Seungcheol-hyung just came back. He told me to tell you to meet him at the lobby.”

“Oooh, I wonder what he wants from you,” Mingyu teases as he takes the cup of coffee from Minghao, his eyebrows moving up and down suggestively.

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “He’s probably just gonna ask if we could go over Kim Kyungjun’s case.”

“I’m betting twelve thousand won that he’s gonna ask you out on another date.” Mingyu puts a hand on his chest and sighs dramatically. “Since you’re oh-so-charming and he probably wants to spend more time with you.”

“I’m leaving,” Jihoon declares, exasperated by Mingyu’s relentless teasing. “Enjoy the coffee.”

Jihoon pulls the door open, exits, and slams it shut, pretending to be more ticked off than he actually is in hopes of guilt-tripping Mingyu into buying him ramen as an apology for annoying him.

Once he gets to the lobby, Jihoon immediately spots Seungcheol sitting at the waiting area, the same place he and Mingyu were when the report for Kim Kyungjun’s case was made. Seungcheol turns his head towards Jihoon and brightens up when he sees Jihoon walking towards him.

“Hey,” Seungcheol greets once Jihoon gets close enough to hear. “You showered.”

Jihoon nods. “I did.” He assesses Seungcheol’s appearance and takes note of the damp hair falling over the Seungcheol’s eyes. “I see you did, too.”

“How can you tell?” Seungcheol feigns surprise. “Is it the aftershave?” Seungcheol leans forward, peering up at Jihoon. Jihoon’s still standing, so Seungcheol’s about eye level with his torso, but even from where he’s looking, Jihoon can feel some sort of intent in his gaze. Not that he’s implying that Seungcheol has some sort of hidden agenda by leaning in this close, but the proximity makes Jihoon’s face go warm as he takes a step back.

“Your hair,” Jihoon states simply. “It’s still wet.”

“Ah,” Seungcheol realizes with a nod as his hand comes up to pat at his hair. Jihoon can’t tell if Seungcheol’s embarrassed, but the way his cheeks are tinged with red is an indicator that Seungcheol’s not feeling all too neutral at the moment.

“Anyways,” Seungcheol says after a moment. “Do you want to take a walk? It doesn’t look like anything’s happening, so…” Seungcheol trails off, looking up expectantly at Jihoon.

Jihoon considers this for a moment Mingyu’s offhanded comments about him and Seungcheol going on a date suddenly replays in his mind. Jihoon looks back at Seungcheol, that slightly mischievous yet charming smile he’s seen in the past few weeks present on the latter’s face.

Could it be?

Could Choi Seungcheol actually be interested in him?

Impossible. Totally impossible. They started talking literally just a few hours ago.

“Sure,” Jihoon catches himself saying before he even realizes it. His first instinct is to take it back, but the way Seungcheol’s face lights up is a bit too much for Jihoon to refuse.

“Cool.” Seungcheol stands and takes Jihoon’s wrist in his hand. “It’s a good thing you’re still wearing your jacket. It’s cold outside.”

Jihoon just stares as he’s dragged out of the police station and onto the sidewalk. Seungcheol continues to clutch onto his arm like some overly protective boyfriend. The thought is ridiculous, but it sends another blush down Jihoon’s neck.

“You can let go of me now.” Jihoon wills his voice to sound stern, trying to bring back that safe distance between them, both literally and figuratively.

 _‘I know you agreed to be friends with him, but this is a little bit too friendly,’_ Jihoon scolds himself.

“Why, is skinship not your thing?” Seungcheol looks back at him, his expression playful, and his lips turn up into a smile that can only be described as coy.

“No, it’s not,” Jihoon affirms, pulling his arm away from Seungcheol. Seungcheol just shrugs and resorts to stuffing his hands inside his coat pockets.

The two of them are standing right outside the station, their breaths frosting over in the cold December air. Jihoon can see remnants of snow scattered around on the sidewalk, on the street, and on top of cars. Paired with the soft glow of the streetlamps and the early morning sky, this part of Seoul seems like it’s immersed in a dream sequence.

Seungcheol sighs, eyes cast on the horizon. “This time of the day was always my favorite. That balance between night and day.”

“Dawn,” Jihoon mumbles beside him, gaze fixed upon the sky as well. Right now, it’s a mix of pale blue and gentle tinges of orange.

“I always had fun waiting for that balance to tip over. For the sun to finally rise and peek over all the tall buildings.” Seungcheol glances over at Jihoon before turning back. “Turns out, it’s much more fun when I’m with somebody.”

Jihoon doesn’t know how to respond to that. Did Seungcheol just admit that he enjoyed Jihoon’s company? Didn’t he already say that? But drinking and watching the sunrise together are two different things. So, instead of coming up with something equally nice to say, Jihoon hums. Jihoon nearly cringes the moment he does it, but he thinks he can always attribute it to not wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere if ever Seungcheol says anything about his lack of a decent reply.

“Come on.” Seungcheol motions down the street with his head. “Let’s get some coffee.”

Jihoon feels around for his wallet, but Seungcheol just laughs, gently prying Jihoon’s hands away from inside his pockets.

“It’s okay,” Seungcheol says. “I’ll treat you.”

 

`

 

They are walking back to the station, cups of piping hot coffee in their hands, effectively warming them up amidst the chill, when Jihoon gets a call from Mingyu.

“Hyung!” Mingyu yells from the other end. Jihoon grimaces at how loud Mingyu’s voice is. “Someone reported a fire to the a few minutes ago and Cap wants us to head over to the scene.”

“A fire?” Jihoon repeats.

“It’s suspected to be arson,” Mingyu clarifies. “It’s a bus company all the way at Yongsan district and the other reporters here are being sent over as well, so we have to go _now_.”

“Call a cab. I’ll be at the station in a minute.”

Jihoon hangs up and turns to Seungcheol, who was watching him with wide, unblinking eyes.

“Thanks for treating me to coffee, but,” Jihoon pushes his cup into Seungcheol’s other hand. “I don’t think we have time right now.”

Seungcheol glances at the two cups in his hands and sighs. “Too bad. I was enjoying myself with you.” It could just be his imagination, but Jihoon thinks Seungcheol sounds genuinely disappointed. Seungcheol jogs over to a nearby trashcan anddrops his and Jihoon’s cups in.

“We should go,” Seungcheol declares, turning back to Jihoon.

Jihoon nods and starts to run, but he’s once again pulled forward by Seungcheol; this time, their hands are intertwined in each other’s and Jihoon doesn’t know whether his heartbeat is quicker because of the running or the fact that Seungcheol is holding his hand.

They get to the station and the first thing Jihoon sees is Mingyu waving his arms frantically in an attempt to hail a cab. Jihoon pulls his hand from Seungcheol’s and runs up to Mingyu. A taxi pulls up just as Jihoon nearly collides with Mingyu’s tall figure.

“Hyung, you’re here!” Mingyu grabs Jihoon’s shoulders as if he can’t believe it. “I was starting to wonder what was taking you so long.”

Jihoon pulls the door to the backseat open. “Sorry, Seungcheol took me out for coffee.”

Just as he says this, Jihoon turns to see where Seungcheol might’ve gone. Jihoon’s eyes meet Seungcheol’s, and it takes a second for Jihoon’s mind to register that Seungcheol’s on his phone. Seungcheol holds up a hand while running towards them, pocketing his phone as he gets closer.

“Cap just called. Well, _my_ Cap. He wants me to go, too.” Seungcheol reaches up to rub at the back of his neck. “Can I catch a ride with you guys? I’ll pay for the fare,” Seungcheol offers.

“What about Soonyoung? Aren’t you supposed to go together since you’re partners?” Jihoon asks.

“He’s the golden boy of his family, which means his rich parents shower him with everything he could ever want and need, including a car,” Seungcheol explains. “He’ll be fine. Hell, he could be there already for all I know.”

“Alright,” Mingyu cuts in. “I’ll ride shotgun.” Jihoon doesn’t miss the suggestive little wink Mingyu sends his way.

“Okay,” Jihoon mumbles before climbing into the backseat. Seungcheol slides in beside him a moment later.

“We could’ve finished our coffee here.” Seungcheol beams over at Jihoon.

Jihoon turns away and instead focuses his attention to the back of the driver’s seat. “I doubt it. The coffee would spill.” With that, Jihoon addresses the driver. “Sir, can you get us to Yongsan as fast as you possibly can?”

The driver looks at Jihoon through the rearview mirror, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he nods nonetheless.

“Of course. Where in Yongsan?”

“Just drop us off at Yongsan Station,” Mingyu intervenes. He turns to Jihoon and Seungcheol before saying, “The site’s probably too crowded by now. We can just walk over to the bus company.”

The driver then steps on the gas. The sudden forward motion momentarily startles Jihoon and he grabs onto the nearest object with his right hand to anchor himself. Jihoon realizes he’s clutching at Seungcheol’s arm and it takes only a little while for the other to catch up with what’s actually happening.

“Sorry,” Jihoon hurriedly apologizes. Seungcheol just chuckles.

“You can always use the seatbelt,” Seungcheol points out. “Unless, you’re more comfortable holding on to me.”

Jihoon huffs indignantly while pulling the seatbelt over his chest.

“I’ll take the seatbelt, thank you very much.”

 

`

 

“I knew it was arson because the back door leading to the alleyway behind the building was open and that’s where the fire seems to have started,” the bus company employee explains. He glances at the camera, clearly uncomfortable with the attention, but the crew from Jihoon and Mingyu’s company (who had arrived at the scene few minutes before they did), convinced the worker to answer a few questions for them.

“Did you see anyone?” Mingyu inquires off-camera, hurriedly scribbling down on his notepad.

“No. It’s like the fire started out of nowhere.” The employee sighs, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. “But, of course that wasn’t the case. There was barely anything flammable in the back room. Only tools and snacks for when we take breaks.”

“Did the arsonist use any fuel?” Jihoon inquires from beside the cameraman, his phone recording the entire interview.

“They did.” The employee nods furiously. “We could all smell it, even before we knew there was a fire. By the time we found the fire, though, it was too big for any of us to contain it, so we had no choice but to call for help.”

Jihoon glances at the cameraman, who in turn gives a curt nod. Jihoon turns to the employee and bows.

“Thank you for your time. That will be all,” Jihoon says politely. The employee bows back and hurries of in the other direction.

“Thanks for the help,” the cameraman says, his voice gruff as he regards Jihoon and Mingyu. The boom operator smiles brightly at both of them, seemingly unfazed by the commotion around him.

Jihoon and Mingyu bow at the same time. “It’s our job,” Jihoon states. “Our captain would’ve murdered us if we refused to come over.”

Both the cameraman and boom operator laugh as they pack away their equipment.

“Your captain? You mean Captain Yoo?” The cameraman grins as he pats Jihoon on the shoulder. “He’s only like that because you’re new. He used to make my life a living hell. Prove that you’re good reporters and he’ll come around.”

The cameraman and boom operator bid their goodbyes before heading off, leaving Jihoon and Mingyu in the midst of the dwindling chaos.

The fire was put out nearly an hour ago, but reporters and police officers alike crowd the area, and, of course, some curious onlookers hang around from a distance, whispering among themselves about what could possibly have happened.

Jihoon cranes his neck to look around, trying to spot Seungcheol, but he immediately catches and berates himself for thinking about Seungcheol at a time like this.

“Looking for Seungcheol–hyung?” Mingyu elbows Jihoon in the arm. Jihoon takes a step back, frowning up at Mingyu.

“I just wanted to see if he’s still here,” Jihoon replies. “You know, you have to stop this whole…” Jihoon makes a vague waving motion with his hand. “…thing. My relationship with Seungcheol is purely professional. I only started talking to him yesterday.”

“Yeah, but, you’ve been on his case for about a month now.” Mingyu moves to poke Jihoon on the arm, much to Jihoon’s annoyance. “Besides, he took you out drinking,” Mingyu singsongs. “He treated you to coffee.” Mingyu smiles, showing off his prominent canines. “He even paid for your cab fare.”

“He paid for you, too,” Jihoon points out. Mingyu just shrugs.

“He probably would’ve done the same even if I wasn’t there.”

Jihoon’s about to answer back, but he gets distracted by a figure running behind Mingyu. Jihoon takes a closer look and sees that it’s Seungcheol. He seems to be running towards him and Mingyu.

“Hey, you two,” Seungcheol greets, clapping Mingyu on the back, effectively surprising the taller boy for a moment.

“Hey, hyung.” Mingyu acknowledges Seungcheol with a smile. “Jihoon-hyung was just looking for you.”

Seungcheol turns to Jihoon, an eyebrow raised. “You were?”

Jihoon coughs and averts his eyes from Seungcheol. “It was more of a passing thought.”

“Ouch.” Seungcheol clutches at his heart, a look of mock hurt on his face. He laughs and Mingyu joins in, and Jihoon feels right about ready to melt into the ground.

“Anyways,” Seungcheol begins. “I’m catching a ride back to the station with Soonyoung. Do you want to come along?”

“It’s okay,” Jihoon answers a little bit too quickly. “We can just take a cab back.”

Mingyu’s head whips around so he could look at Jihoon, a pout already forming on his lips. “But, hyung—“

“No, really,” Jihoon insists. “I don’t want to bother you any further.” Jihoon pauses and realizes what he just said. “I mean, _we_ don’t want to bother you any further.”

Seungcheol regards him for a few seconds, and Jihoon challenges himself to stare right back, but it proves to be harder than he thought, because Seungcheol breaks out into a smile when he realizes Jihoon isn’t looking away.

‘ _What the fuck is wrong with me?_ ’ Jihoon asks himself.

“Alright,” Seungcheol nods. “Be careful, you two.”

Seungcheol waves at both of them before running off in the other direction, leaving Mingyu and Jihoon alone.

“He totally likes you,” Mingyu concludes. “And you like him, too.”

Jihoon punches Mingyu in the arm. “Stop it. Let’s just get back to the main road and get a taxi back to the station.”

Mingyu rubs at his arm, but he’s laughing, continually teasing Jihoon about Seungcheol and how they’ve already gone on two dates in less than 24 hours.

Jihoon and Mingyu walk back to the main road, and by the time they get to the side of the road, they’re still bickering. However, their conversation is interrupted when someone bumps into Jihoon. He stumbles for a bit, but Mingyu catches him by his coat sleeve. Jihoon looks up and sees that it’s a woman, hunched over with her head hung low, walking briskly, as if in a hurry.

“Okay, that was rude,” Mingyu complains. “She didn’t even say sorry.”

Jihoon tears his eyes away from the woman and instead turns his attention to the street, his right arm raised as he signals for a cab.

A few seconds later, a cab slows down in front of them, and Mingyu pulls the door open.

“Come on, hyung. I need some breakfast,” Mingyu urges. Jihoon’s about to follow Mingyu in, when something on the ground catches his eye. He peers down at it, and upon closer inspection, he realizes that it’s a matchbox. Jihoon crouches down and picks it up, shaking it by his ear to assess how many matches are left. The matchbox barely makes any sound, indicating most of the matches have been used up.

Jihoon looks at Mingyu. “Is this yours?”

“No.” Mingyu shakes his head. “The woman or somebody else must’ve dropped it.”

Jihoon whips around and searches for the woman, suspicions rising in his head, but they’re quickly pushed out of his brain when Mingyu’s impatient voice reaches his ears.

“Hyung!” Mingyu whines. “Breakfast? Food?”

Jihoon turns back to Mingyu. Seeing the darkness underneath his partner’s tired eyes sends a stab of guilt through Jihoon’s chest.

“Alright, alright. Sorry.” Jihoon climbs into the car with Mingyu, the matchbox still clutched tightly in his hand.

 

`

 

Jihoon’s alone in the reporter’s room, typing his report on the arson case on his laptop. His fingers work furiously at the keyboard, but his mind keeps wandering back to the strange woman and the matchbox he found earlier.

_It can’t be._

_It’s too simple._

The matchbox sits on the desk he’s working on, next to Jihoon’s phone, and Jihoon eyes it with uncertainty. He takes it and pockets it, choosing to hide it for now.

Just then, the door to the room opens. Jihoon looks up and sees that it’s Seungcheol.

“Hi.” Seungcheol walks over to Jihoon, standing beside him as he watches Jihoon work.

Jihoon looks up and smiles briefly. “Hi.”

Seungcheol pulls the other office chair from the corner and wheels it beside Jihoon. “May I?” Seungcheol looks to Jihoon for permission, and Jihoon has no choice but to scoot over to give Seungcheol some space to sit.

Seungcheol sits down and faces Jihoon, who has stopped typing altogether, and is now focused on every move Seungcheol makes instead.

“I have something very big to ask you,” Seungcheol begins, “ and you don’t have to answer immediately, but I do need a response by today.”

Jihoon gives Seungcheol a questioning look, eyes gone slightly wider in his surprise. “What is it?”

“Do you want to go back to the arson scene later? Like, really late at night? Look around for clues the police might have missed?” Seungcheol leans closer, eyes hopeful, and Jihoon can feel himself shrinking down in his seat.

“We’re not allowed to do that,” Jihoon whispers. He doesn’t know exactly why he’s suddenly whispering, but he thinks it might be because they’re talking about doing something illegal, or maybe because Seungcheol‘s face is way closer than it should be.

“Other reporters do it all the time,” Seungcheol presses on. “We don’t have to tell anyone.”

Jihoon sighs and looks away. His hand unconsciously goes over to his pocket, where the matchbox is, and Jihoon can feel it press against his thigh. Jihoon bites his lip and faces Seungcheol.

“Okay,” Jihoon begins carefully. “I’ll go.,”

Jihoon immediately feels a tug of regret, but he’s already decided.

Seungcheol’s lips form into a smile, and Jihoon finds himself mesmerized once again by Seungcheol’s dimples.

“Wait,” Jihoon interrupts his own thoughts. “Who else is going?”

“Just me. And you, now that you’ve agreed to come along,” Seungcheol says, his smile never faltering.

Jihoon raises both his eyebrows at that.

“The fewer, the better,” Seungcheol elaborates. “Less noise and less attention.”

“Fair enough.” Jihoon nods. Suddenly, a thought comes to him. Almost immediately, he dismisses it and tries to pry it out of his mind, but there’s a nagging voice in Jihoon’s head. Ultimately, he lets the voice win.

“I actually have something to tell you.” Jihoon turns to Seungcheol, who seems to already be listening attentively.

“Sure.”

Jihoon takes a deep breath and looks up at the plain ceiling of the reporter’s room as he tries to gather the strength and words he needs.

“But, I’ll tell you on the way to the scene.” Jihoon is whispering again, and Seungcheol moves even closer so he could hear. In his panic and haste to get Seungcheol to stop leaning any closer, Jihoon lays a hand on Seungcheol’s forearm, which is resting on the office chair’s armrest, fingers curling around as if to hold Seungcheol in place.

Seungcheol seems unaffected by this.

“Why can’t you just tell me now?” Seungcheol questions. Jihoon loosens his hold on Seungcheol’s arm and instead resorts to fiddling with the material of Seungcheol’s sweater as he carefully strings his next sentence together.

“Anyone can just barge in here and interrupt,” Jihoon states. Seungcheol looks at him curiously.

“This is really important, okay? Just… trust me.” Jihoon pauses. “You do trust me, right?”

Seungcheol nods, giving Jihoon a look that has the latter’s face turning warm. “Yeah, of course.”

“Good.” Jihoon smiles reassuringly at Seungcheol. “I’ll tell you later, don’t worry.”

“Promise?” Seungcheol pouts, breaking the previously serious atmosphere. Jihoon rolls his eyes.

“Fine. I promise.”

Jihoon finally pulls his hand away from Seungcheol’s arm and turns back to the monitor in front of him.

“Now, leave me alone. I’m working,”


	3. three.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon cares about Seungcheol more than he admits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry i literally took a month to update ;; i personally felt like i was doing so badly with this chapter but i'll let you all be the judge of that. 
> 
> again, i'm sorry and enjoy!

Jihoon’s just about to doze off when he feels someone shake him back into consciousness.

“Jihoon.”

Jihoon’s eyes fly open as Seungcheol’s voice immediately registers in his mind. Jihoon blinks a few times to clear his vision, and sure enough, Seungcheol’s face is curiously peering down on his own. Jihoon jerks back in his surprise, but his head is met with the hard concrete wall he’s leaning against. 

“Ow,” Jihoon mutters, wincing, as he massages the back of his head. “What is it?” Jihoon asks, trying not to make it too obvious that he’s peeved at how Seungcheol interrupted his nap before it even started. 

“I think it’s about time we leave,” Seungcheol informs Jihoon. Jihoon automatically glances at the watch around his wrist and is fairly surprised to see that it’s nearly midnight. 

“God, what have I been doing these past few hours?” Jihoon wonders mostly to himself as he rubs at his eyes. 

Seungcheol chuckles lowly and settles on the comforter next to Jihoon. “Sleeping, mostly. Are you that tired?” Seungcheol eyes Jihoon worriedly as he asks. 

“Kind of?” Jihoon shrugs. “I mean, I’m running on three hours of sleep here, and although I’ve slept considerably less before, with everything that’s happened today, I think that’s hardly enough.” 

Seungcheol hums in acknowledgement, his hand coming up to pat at Jihoon’s arm. “You can stay if you don’t feel like coming with me anymore.” 

Jihoon just shakes his head. “No, I don’t want you to go alone.”

Seungcheol raises an eyebrow at that and smiles. “You know,” he begins. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re concerned.”

“ _Concerned?_ For _you_?” Jihoon demands. “Look, what I meant to say was, I don’t want you to get all the unseen evidence to yourself.”

“Alright, alright,” Seungcheo laughs. “Are you always this defensive?”

“Only to you, because you take everything I say out of context and twist my words in an attempt to tease me,” Jihoon argues as he pushes himself to his feet. 

“Are we leaving or not?” Jihoon asks, looking at Seungcheol expectantly. Seungcheol breaks out into a smile and stands up 

“We are,” Seungcheol confirms. 

“You know,” Seungcheol continues as he walks towards the door. “I like it when you get all sassy with me.” He pauses for a moment and looks back at Jihoon.

“It’s cute.” 

Jihoon watches as Seungcheol pulls the door open and exits, suddenly thankful that the room is empty, because the thought of someone seeing how utterly red his face is at the moment would be too much for Jihoon to handle. 

With a final shake of his head, Jihoon heads out of the room himself.

  

` 

 

“What was it you wanted to tell me?” Seungcheol asks, pulling his coat tighter around his body. 

“Later,” Jihoon replies curtly. “The cold’s kind of making it hard for me to think right now, much less talk.” 

“Ah, wait,” Seungcheol mutters under his breath. 

Jihoon watches Seungcheol pat at his coat pockets before eventually pulling out a hot pack. Jihoon has barely any time to react as Seungcheol presses the hot pack gently onto his cheek while Seungcheol’s hand rests on the other side of Jihoon’s face. 

“Better?” Seungcheol smiles at him and Jihoon’s heart does a little leap in his chest. He quickly swats Seungcheol’s hand away and takes the hot pack himself. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jihoon murmurs and looks away. Jihoon hears Seungcheol laugh, but Seungcheol doesn’t say anything more after that.

It takes a little longer for them to hail a cab, given the hour at night, but after a few more minutes of waiting in the cold, a taxi finally slows down in front of them. Seungcheol wastes no time as he steps forward to open the door for Jihoon. 

Jihoon raises his eyebrows at Seungcheol. “Are you gonna keep doing that every time we’re getting into a car together?” 

“Yep,” Seungcheol says with a nod of his head. “Do you have a problem with that?” 

“I guess not,” Jihoon replies while he climbs into the backseat. He gives a satisfied little sigh as he settles in. “It’s like having your own personal butler or something.” 

Seungcheol gives him a pointed look before sliding into the seat beside Jihoon. “Don’t push it.” 

Seungcheol informs the cab driver of their destination, and a heavy silence follows soon after. Jihoon watches as the city blurs past them, the steady rocking inside the vehicle eventually lulling him to sleep, his head resting against the car window. After a while, Jihoon awakens to Seungcheol’s voice reminding him that they’ve arrived back in Yongsan. 

“We’re here,” Seungcheol announces while shaking Jihoon’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I got the fare covered,” Seungcheol adds. 

Jihoon, still groggy with sleep, opens the door on his side and steps out, the winter breeze blowing against his face. Jihoon pulls the hot pack Seungcheol gave him out of his coat pocket and brings it up to his cheek as he follows Seungcheol towards the direction of the bus company. 

Seungcheol walks at a relaxed pace, so Jihoon easily falls into step with him. 

“Why are we walking so slowly?” Jihoon questions, glancing over at Seungcheol, whose lazy smile matches his equally leisurely steps. 

“You don’t want people to think we’re up to anything, do you?” Seungcheol points out, tilting his head towards Jihoon. Jihoon gives a little ‘ah’ and nods. 

Seungcheol nudges Jihoon’s arm and asks, “Are you still too cold to tell me what it is you have to say? You know, I still have few more hot packs, if you need them.”

Jihoon sighs, deciding that it’s best if he just told Seungcheol about the woman he saw this morning. 

“There’s this woman,” Jihoon begins. “Mingyu and I saw her when we were on our way back to the station this morning after we interviewed some of the employees. She seemed to be in a hurry, she even bumped into me and didn’t bother apologizing.” Jihoon looks up at Seungcheol, who was listening intently, eyebrows drawn together and lips pressed into a tight line.

“That’s when I saw the matchbox on the ground.”

Seungcheol’s tense expression melted away to give way to one of surprise. Seungcheol blinks for a few moments before saying, “I see where you’re going with this.”

“I could just be overthinking, though,” Jihoon rushes on. Biting his lip, he turns back to Seungcheol. “What if it’s just a coincidence?” 

“Yeah, but, with stuff like this, there are almost always no coincidences,” Seungcheol reminds Jihoon. “It’s best to trust your instincts.” 

“What if it leads to a dead end?” 

Seungcheol rests a reassuring hand on Jihoon’s shoulder. “You can’t always be right the first time around.” 

Jihoon thinks about this for a moment. In essence, what Seungcheol said is true, but being held accountable for a false lead weighs heavy in Jihoon’s mind. 

“What do you think I should do?” Jihoon asks as they cross a quiet side street. The silence gets to Jihoon, and he can’t help but shoot a nervous glance over his shoulder. Unsurprisingly, nobody’s there, but Jihoon shuffles closer to Seungcheol just to be sure.

“Tell Detective Kang what you saw. He’ll take note of it,” Seungcheol suggests. “He’s a considerate guy, I’m sure he won’t brush you off so easily.” 

Jihoon and Seungcheol walk for a bit more until the squat building of the bus company comes into view, the blackened walls of the first floor a stark contrast against the pristine condition of the establishments beside it.

“This is literally trespassing,” Jihoon deadpans as they approach the scene of the fire.

“Yeah,” Seungcheol confirms with a hint of amusement. “I thought you knew that when you agreed to come along.”

Jihoon ignores Seungcheol’s comeback as he trudges on towards the barred front door. Jihoon surveys their surroundings before turning back to Seungcheol. 

“So, what’s your plan?” Jihoon asks. “Just look around and hope that some piece of evidence presents itself to us?” 

Obviously sheepish, Seungcheol reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, pretty much.” 

Jihoon lets out a deep sigh. “You’re so predictable,” Jihoon chastises. “Come on, maybe we can get in from the back.” 

Seungcheol nods and immediately approaches the small alleyway between the bus company’s building and the one beside it. He signals for Jihoon to come over, a hand held out as if Seungcheol’s inviting Jihoon to take hold of it. 

“That won’t be necessary,” Jihoon states as he shoves past Seungcheol and starts walking towards the building’s back area. He’s so focused on trying to contain the familiar embarrassment working its way up his chest that he almost misses the unmistakable sound of footsteps. 

Jihoon hurriedly backs up and bumps into Seungcheol, who catches him before Jihoon could stumble to the ground. 

“What’s wrong?” Seungcheol whispers, pulling Jihoon upright. Jihoon grabs Seungcheol’s upper arm and pulls him down so his ear is level with Jihoon’s mouth. 

“I think someone else is here. I heard footsteps.” 

Seungcheol’s eyes Jihoon unsurely before turning to look at the end of the alley. 

“Maybe it’s just an employee?” Seungcheol offers, already walking further down the narrow path 

Jihoon runs forward and blocks Seungcheol’s way, his palms pressed against the walls of the two buildings on either side of them. “What if it isn’t?”

Before Seungcheol could answer, his vision shifts to something behind Jihoon, and the next thing Jihoon knows, Seungcheol is yelling.

“Who are you?” Seungcheol barks. Jihoon whips around to see a dark figure standing at the end of the alley. It’s hard to make out most of the person’s features in the dim lighting of the area, but it’s hard to miss the long hair blowing around the person’s face as the breeze picks up once again. 

“It’s her,” Jihoon claims. He can’t be entirely sure, but something tells him this person isn’t just an innocent employee visiting his workplace in the middle of the night.

The figure runs towards them and both Jihoon and Seungcheol have barely any time to register the object being thrown their way. 

Jihoon takes the brunt of the blow, the large, seemingly metal thing coming in contact with his arm, which he instinctively held up to shield his face from whatever’s being propelled at him. Jihoon tries to ignore the pain, but he’s promptly shoved to the side, and at the same time, he loses his balance and falls to the ground. 

Jihoon looks up and is stunned at the scene playing out in front of him. Seungcheol’s struggling with the person; Jihoon’s positive that it’s a woman because he can see her much clearly now that she’s closer to the streetlamps. Seungcheol has her by the collar of her coat and it’s undeniable that it’s the same one as the woman Jihoon saw this morning. 

In the midst of the scuffle, the woman wriggles free from her coat and nearly dives to the ground to retrieve the thing she threw at Jihoon. Jihoon tries to stop her, but it’s as if the woman possess an inhuman kind of speed. She grabs the object and swings it around, hitting Seungcheol right on the side of his head. She runs off, leaving Jihoon and an unconscious Seungcheol behind. 

“Shit,” Jihoon curses under his breath. “Shit, shit, shit, shit.” 

Jihoon crawls over to Seungcheol who was knocked out cold, a thin line of blood trickling down his temple. Jihoon pulls his phone out with shaky hands and punches in the emergency number. The line rings once before an operator answers. 

“I need an ambulance,” Jihoon hurriedly says. “My friend’s been hit on the head by someone and he’s bleeding and completely unconscious.” 

“We’re in Yongsan, at the Yongsan District Bus Company,” Jihoon adds, and he notices that he’s shivering. What he doesn’t know is if it’s from the cold or from the sheer panic rising in his chest. 

“I’ll send one right over,” the operator calmly informs Jihoon. “I need you to stay on the line while you wait so I can tell you how to give them immediate first-aid.” 

“Okay,” Jihoon replies, wedging his phone between his shoulder and ear as he moves even closer to Seungcheol.

“Are they breathing normally?”

Jihoon leans forward to align his ear with Seungcheol’s parted mouth. 

“Yes.” 

“Make sure their head is level with their spine. You can do that by holding onto the sides of their head and gently adjusting their position so that they’re facing forward.” 

Jihoon reaches over to do as the operator said, his hands carefully moving Seungcheol’s head to position it with the rest of his body. Jihoon tries not to think too much about how Seungcheol’s blood is literally on his hands. 

“What’s next?” Jihoon asks the operator. 

“Firmly press a piece of cloth onto the area where they’re bleeding,” the operator continues. “Any cloth will do, even your own shirt.” 

Jihoon eyes the woman’s abandoned coat on the ground, but immediately goes against using it, realizing that he can’t just contaminate an important piece of evidence like that. Without a second thought, Jihoon momentarily puts his phone down and takes his own jacket off before pulling his sweater over his head. Ignoring the sudden chill against his skin, Jihoon bundles his sweater up and holds it against the wound on Seungcheol’s head. 

Jihoon puts the phone on speaker, opting instead to use his free hand to support the other side of Seungcheol’s face. 

“Anything else?” Jihoon asks, his teeth chattering. He scolds himself for underestimating the cold, but the sight of Seungcheol’s lips turning pale right before his very eyes is more than enough for Jihoon to forget about his own warmth. 

“The ambulance is on its way and will be arriving shortly,” the operator reassures Jihoon. “Don’t leave your friend and if they start to wake up, try to keep them conscious until the medics arrive.”

“Got it,” Jihoon says, taking a deep breath to ease his nerves. Jihoon looks back at Seungcheol’s face and bites his lips in worr

“You’re such an idiot,” Jihoon mumbles. “You are _such_ an idiot, but _please_ don’t die on me."

  

` 

 

The previous hour was a blur to Jihoon. He knew what was happening, but it’s as if he was merely watching from the sidelines with absolutely no control over what’s happening.

Jihoon remembers the ambulance. He remembers someone throwing a blanket over his shoulders before urging him to climb into the back of the vehicle. Jihoon remembers seeing Seungcheol being carried in right after. The bleeding has stopped and his head is being treated, but Seungcheol’s eyes remained closed. Jihoon remembers weakly telling the medics about the woman’s coat and how it’s vital to the police. He remembers the medic telling him that all objects found at the scene will be turned over to authorities, and that he shouldn’t worry about it. 

And now, sitting in the emergency room, an ice pack held against his forearm where the unidentified object hit him, Jihoon remembers the fear of watching Seungcheol bleed in front of his very own eyes. Jihoon reassures himself that Seungcheol’s going to be fine, but the heavy feeling in his gut will remain until he hears it from an actual doctor. 

“Jihoon-hyung!”

Jihoon’s thoughts are put to an abrupt stop when he sees Mingyu running towards him, Minghao and Soonyoung following close behind. Mingyu pulls Jihoon into a hug, and Jihoon can’t even find the will to push Mingyu away, as he normally would. 

“Hey, he’s injured,” Minghao scolds, prying Mingyu away from Jihoon. Mingyu pulls back and gasps when he sees the ice pack in Jihoon’s hand.

“I’m fine!” Jihoon hurriedly reassures all of them. “It’s Seungcheol you should be worried about.”

“We all heard about what happened,” Soonyoung recounts. “The police were immediately notified since this was an assault. Yongsan Police forwarded the report to our station when they found out Seungcheol was assigned there.” 

“Did the police talk to you?” Minghao asks. 

“Yeah, around half an hour ago,” Jihoon confirms while nodding his head. “I gave them all the details, since they couldn’t find much off of Seungcheol’s phone and wallet.” 

“If I wasn’t with him,” Jihoon continues. “He’d probably still be bleeding in that alley.”

“We came soon after Detective Kang told us. We were so worried,” Mingyu rushes on. Minghao grabs Mingyu’s hand to stop it from shaking. 

Jihoon sort of wishes someone was there to hold _his_ hand.

“What were you even doing there?” Soonyoung questions. Jihoon studies Soonyoung’s face, worried that Soonyoung was somehow accusing him, but all Jihoon can see is genuine concern.

“We were looking for evidence about the fire that the police might’ve overlooked,” Jihoon states simply. “We weren’t there to cause any trouble or catch the bad guy, if that’s what you’re asking."

“Well,” Soonyoung starts, momentarily glancing at Mingyu and Minghao. “You found a lot, actually.” 

Jihoon looks up at them, puzzled. “Did they tell you about the woman’s coat?” 

“They did.” Mingyu confirms, nodding. “And that thing that was used to knock Seungcheol-hyung out? It was a tin canister, the same one that’s used to store fuel.” 

“Detective Kang told us that the arsonist might’ve left the canister somewhere in the scene in their rush to get away,” Soonyoung adds. “Or that they hid it in the company’s back room before leaving, since it would be too obvious for them if they left with an empty canister of fuel.” 

“They simply wanted to go back and retrieve it so that there would be absolutely no evidence left,” Minghao concludes. 

Jihoon leans back in his chair, trying to comprehend all the pieces of information. 

“It fits,” Jihoon says mostly to himself. “It all fits.”

“Mingyu, remember the woman who bumped into me this morning? And the matchbox I found right after?” Jihoon hurriedly asks. 

“Yeah,” Mingyu answers. “Wait, you don’t think—“ 

“The coat the suspected arsonist was wearing tonight is the same one as the woman’s. I’m sure of it. And it’s impossible that matchbox wasn’t hers,” Jihoon explains in one breath. He reaches into his pocket and presents the matchbox itself. 

“Okay, I’m kind of freaking out right now,” Soonyoung mutters under his breath, eyeing the matchbox in Jihoon’s hand. 

“Hyung, you could testify as an eyewitness!” Mingyu exclaims. “You have solid proof and you’ve come face to face with the arsonist herself.” 

“Excuse me,” a voice cuts into their conversation. Jihoon turns and sees a young, dark-haired doctor standing nearby, round wire spectacles resting on the bridge of his pointed nose. 

“I’m Dr. Jeon,” the doctor begins. “I oversaw Choi Seungcheol’s injuries.” 

“Is he okay?” Jihoon asks, getting up from his seat, his ice pack long forgotten. 

“Oh, don’t worry,” Dr. Jeon says, holding both of his hands out. “It’s nothing serious. There was no damage to the skull or the brain. He just needed a few stitches.” 

A heavy weight seems to be lifted from Jihoon’s chest as he hears this. 

“Although, the fact that the blow was hard enough to knock him unconscious is a bit worrisome, so he’ll have to stay for at least another day,” Dr. Jeon explains further.

Jihoon nods. “I understand.” 

“Can we see him now?” Mingyu asks. Dr. Jeon just smiles.

“He’s actually looking for a Lee Jihoon,” Dr. Jeon informs them. Jihoon’s hand immediately shoots up. 

“That’s me,” Jihoon declares.

“Oh, good. He’s in room 228.” 

Jihoon bows in thanks and is about to rush off to the elevator when he suddenly remembers his three other friends. 

Jihoon turns back to Dr. Jeon. “They _can_ come too, right?”

“Aren’t visiting hours—“ Soonyoung starts to ask, but Dr. Jeon quickly cuts him off.

“It’s okay,” Dr. Jeon reassures Soonyoung, smiling warmly. “It’s a special case, so you can go.” 

Soonyoung smiles back gratefully and bows. “Thank you.”

The four of them run off to find the elevator, hurriedly climbing on once the doors open in front of them. The short ride to the second floor is spent in silence, his own heartbeat being the only sound in Jihoon’s ears.

The elevator dings as they’re let off at the second floor. Jihoon leads the way as they walk down the hall looking for Seungcheol’s room. Finally, they arrive at room 228, and Jihoon swallows as he stares at the room number etched on a metal plate attached to the door. Jihoon knocks softly before turning the knob and peeking in.

“Seungcheol?” 

Seungcheol cracks his eyes open and smiles when he spots Jihoon by the doorway. “You really can’t bother calling me hyung, can you?” 

Jihoon would never admit it, but he nearly cries as Seungcheol’s voice reaches his ears. 

Jihoon steps into the room, followed by the others, his eyes trained on the gauze wrapped around Seungcheol’s head.

“Don’t look so worried,” Seungcheol teases. “I’m fine, Jihoon.”

Before Jihoon could reply, Seungcheol shifts his gaze to the other three behind him. 

“I didn’t know you guys would be here,” Seungcheol says, his whole face breaking out into a grin. 

Mingyu, Minghao, and Soonyoung take turns in greeting Seungcheol, each one of them settling onto the small couch at the corner of the room once they’re done, leaving Jihoon to claim the stool right next to Seungcheol’s bed. 

“Hey,” Jihoon greets softly as he sits down. 

“Hey, Ji,” Seungcheol replies, chuckling when he sees Jihoon’s expression change at the nickname. 

“You scared me quite a bit back there,” Jihoon admits, his eyes downcast. 

“I didn’t exactly ask to be hit in the head, did I?” Seungcheol’s tone is relaxed, easy-going, but Jihoon’s mood fails to lighten.

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just—“ Jihoon sighs. “Whatever. Forget it.” 

The room is silent for a few moments, and Jihoon can’t help but think that he’s the one to blame for the awkward atmosphere. He’s about to excuse himself, to make up a lie about wanting to get a soda from the vending machine or something, when Mingyu speaks up. 

“I think the three of us should go,” Mingyu tells Seungcheol, but his eyes glance towards Jihoon. “We’ve been gone from the station for too long.” 

“Yeah,” Soonyoung agrees, standing up and giving Seungcheol a pat on the leg. “I’ll tell Cap that you’re alright.” 

“Don’t forget to eat well, hyung,” Minghao reminds Seungcheol as he walks towards the door.

 The three of them all bid their goodbyes, and soon after, it is only Jihoon and Seungcheol in the room. Jihoon can feel Seungcheol looking at him, but he can’t bring himself to look back. 

“Are you still worried?” Seungcheol asks, and Jihoon can feel that he’s being careful. 

Seungcheol shifts so he’s sitting up straighter. “Jihoon,” he calls out. “Jihoon, look at me.” 

Jihoon finally, _finally_ does look at Seungcheol, and Jihoon’s throat constricts when he sees the way Seungcheol is looking at _him_. 

“Sorry for dragging you into this mess,” Seungcheol apologizes, his eyes boring straight into Jihoon’s. 

“Are you kidding me?” Jihoon splutters. “You should be thankful I was there to save your ass.”

Seungcheol laughs, reaching over to take Jihoon’s hand in his. Jihoon flinches, but he’s too taken aback to react any other way. Seungcheol threads their fingers together and smiles. 

“Thank you,” Seungcheol whispers. “For caring about me.” 

Jihoon shakes his head. “It’s basic human decency.” 

“Oh, so that fear in your eyes is basic human decency?” Seungcheol prods, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. 

“Anybody would’ve been scared.” 

“You don’t seem like the type to scare easy.” 

“I am, when it’s about you,” Jihoon blurts out, his heart pounding against his chest. Jihoon turns away again, his focus returning to the floor beneath him. 

“Because, yeah, maybe I do care about you, which is weird because two days ago I hated you,” Jihoon hurriedly adds. 

Seungcheol loosens his grip on Jihoon’s hand and instead resorts to drawing patterns on Jihoon’s palm.

“Maybe alongside all that time spent hating on me, you unconsciously took note of all the things you like about me, too,” Seungcheol suggests.

“I don’t know,” Jihoon replies curtly. “Now is not the time to talk about it because you need to rest.” 

Jihoon pulls his hand away and stands up.

“I have to go. I’ll visit tomorrow, if I can.” 

Seungcheol nods before beaming up at Jihoon. “Bye,” Seungcheol says. “Fill me in on what’s happening, okay?” 

Jihoon gives Seungcheol a long, hard look. He can’t seem to fathom how Seungcheol is still able to look composed, despite being in a hospital bed due to someone attacking him merely a few hours ago. 

Jihoon lists this as one of the things he likes about Seungcheol. 

“Sure,” Jihoon agrees, his mouth turning up into the smallest of smiles. Before he can stop himself, Jihoon takes Seungcheol’s hand and gives it a quick, reassuring squeeze. 

“Don’t stay up too late,” Jihoon reminds.

Seungcheol laughs at this, but he grips Jihoon’s hand back. “I won’t.” 

Jihoon pulls back and turns towards the door. 

“Good night, Seungcheol,” Jihoon says over his shoulder as he’s walking away. Seungcheol gives him a little wave. 

“Good night, Jihoon.”


	4. four.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What are you doing?"
> 
> "Thanking you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back :^)

“Going off to visit Seungcheol-hyung?”

Jihoon looks up from the food he’s packing and sees Mingyu leaning against the doorframe with a knowing smile on his face. Jihoon tries to play it cool by nodding wordlessly, hurriedly shoving the plastic container of cooked store-bought ramyeon into his backpack.

“So, that’s why you needed my plastic containers,” Mingyu taunts. “You saw him the other night, though,” Mingyu reminds him. “Are you _that_ worried?”

Jihoon feigns annoyance as he zips his backpack up. “Not really. I promised him I’d visit him yesterday, but I wasn’t able to. Don’t put meaning where there isn’t any.” 

“I was just asking,” Mingyu explains, holding his hands up in defense. 

Jihoon pulls the straps over his shoulders and sighs. He _is_ worried. Jihoon knows he should be, given the traumatic things he’d seen the other night, but he’s afraid that admitting it out loud would make his worries tangible, more concrete. He doesn’t want anyone to see him so distressed.

“You know, you can always tell me if something’s bothering you,” Mingyu urges him. “I won’t judge you for it. I know you’re not heartless.”

Jihoon takes a long, hard look at Mingyu. There’s genuine concern on Mingyu’s face, and it makes Jihoon think of all the times he’s brushed his kindness off with a roll of his eyes. 

“I—“ Jihoon begins. “I just can’t help but think that what happened to Seungcheol is my fault.” 

It’s not exactly a lie. Jihoon _does_ feel responsible for Seungcheol’s injuries. 

“You know that’s not true,” Mingyu assures Jihoon. “You practically saved his life.” 

Jihoon just shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Look,” Mingyu starts as he approaches Jihoon and places both of his hands on Jihoon’s shoulders. “I’m sorry for always teasing you about Seungcheol-hyung. But I can see that you actually care for him, and that’s alright. Like I said, you’re not heartless.” 

Jihoon bows his head in embarrassment and disbelief that Mingyu of all people is giving him this talk. Mingyu takes notice of this and laughs. 

“Go ahead and visit your boyfriend,” Mingyu teases.

“Hey,” Jihoon warns. “Didn’t you just apologize about always bothering me about him? And to think I was actually going to forgive you.” 

Mingyu snickers, patting Jihoon on the back.

“I don’t care if you forgive me or not,” Mingyu declares. “It doesn’t change the fact that you’re practically married.”

Jihoon chokes when he hears this.

“ _Married?!_ ”

“Uh huh.” Mingyu nods, pulling Jihoon out of the reporters’ room. “Now, hurry up or the food will turn cold.”

“There are microwaves at the hospital,” Jihoon mutters, the word ‘married’ still echoing around in his mind. 

“Sorry, what? I can’t hear you over your overflowing love and affection for Seungcheol-hyung,” Mingyu taunts, dragging Jihoon down the hallway and into the police station lobby.

 

`

 

 _“Hello, my name is Choi Seungcheol, and this is my partner Kwon Soonyoung, and we’re from LNC Broadcasting_. _I’m looking forward to working with you all.”_  

 _There’s a monotonous ‘Hello’ from the other reporters waiting in the lobby as Jihoon looks the newcomers over, taking note of their smart, newly pressed clothes and neat hair. It’s only been three days and Jihoon already feels like death. Having to sit at the lobby for hours on end is way worse than he had originally thought. Jihoon bets ten thousand won that by tomorrow, these newbies’ clothes will be as wrinkled as their faces._

_“Is this spot taken?”_

_Jihoon blinks and looks up, surprised to see one of them staring intently at him, large brown eyes boring straight into Jihoon’s. It’s the guy that spoke up. ‘Seungcheol,’ Jihoon thinks._

_It takes a few moments for Jihoon to realize that Seungcheol is actually referring to the seat beside him. Jihoon hurriedly nods and is promptly rewarded with a bright smile from him._

_Seungcheol takes the seat next to Jihoon and immediately pulls his laptop, phone, and notepad out. Jihoon envies his enthusiasm._

_“Getting newsworthy stuff takes a lot of waiting and a lot more pestering,” Jihoon blurts out. “It’s either you annoy the officers enough for them to give you a scoop or you try to befriend them. I’ve never seen anyone do the second one, though.”_

_Seungcheol raises an eyebrow at Jihoon. “Is that so?”_

_Jihoon nods, absentmindedly rubbing at the stubble growing on his face._

_“Well,” Seungcheol begins. “I better get started, then.”_

_Seungcheol carefully places all his stuff back into his bag, save for his phone, before standing up._

_“Thanks for the advice,” Seungcheol says. Jihoon just watches in disbelief as Seungcheol enters the officers’ workstations._  

 

_`_

Jihoon knocks on Seungcheol’s door before he can give it any more thought. He nervously grips the straps of his backpack as he waits for Seungcheol’s response. 

To Jihoon’s surprise, Seungcheol opens the door himself, peering through the small crack in the door. 

“Jihoon! You’re back so soon,” Seungcheol says, surprised. His hand immediately reaches up to pat his hair down, and to Jihoon, the messy spikes atop Seungcheol’s head gives him a cute, puppy-like look.

“I _did_ say I would come over,” Jihoon reminds him, shifting his weight form one foot to the other, wondering if Seungcheol would actually let him in. 

As if on cue, Seungcheol smiles and opens the door a little wider. “Come on in.” 

Jihoon shuffles past him and heads straight for the couch on the far end of the room. Jihoon sets his bag down and turns back to Seungcheol. 

“How have you been?” Jihoon asks as he awkwardly positions himself at the edge of the couch, watching Seungcheol settle back into his bed, his hospital gown showing more collarbone than Jihoon can bear to look at. Without meaning to, Jihoon’s eyes travel lower to where Seungcheol’s leg muscles are flexing. 

“Good. Better. There was this throbbing in my head last night, so they gave me meds for that,” Seungcheol reassures Jihoon, whose forehead had creased in worry. 

“Are you okay now?” Jihoon asks, genuinely concerned. 

“Yeah. It hasn’t come back since,” Seungcheol replies. Jihoon nods at this, relieved that Seungcheol’s feeling a little better. 

“Oh,” Jihoon adds softly, his attention caught by the backpack by his feet. “I brought you food.” 

Seungcheol’s eyebrows shoot up at this, equally surprised and amused. “Did you prepare them yourself?” 

Jihoon chuckles. “Does microwaving the ramyeon in the convenience store count?” 

Seungcheol laughs and Jihoon smiles to himself as he takes out the paper bag of food from his backpack. Jihoon gathers the ramyeon and kimbap before standing up and handing them to Seungcheol, who in turn accept them with a wide grin. 

“Where’d you get the plastic containers?” Seungcheol questions, reaching over to one of the bedside drawers to look for chopsticks. 

“Mingyu has tons of them. You know him. He’s practically a boy scout,” Jihoon replies. 

“True,” Seungcheol agrees, holding out a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks to Jihoon. “Eat with me,” Seungcheol offers. 

Jihoon is ready to refuse and make up some bullshit about how the food was only meant for Seungcheol. 

“Come on,” Seungcheol interrupts Jihoon’s train of thought as he pushes the chopsticks into Jihoon’s hand. “It’s much more fun if you eat with someone else.”

Jihoon sighs and takes them and Seungcheol smiles, offering the ramyeon to Jihoon. Jihoon bows his head as he takes it, silently twirling the noodles around before taking some into his mouth.

Jihoon notices Seungcheol beaming slightly at him, and Jihoon immediately turns away, embarrassed. Seungcheol doesn’t say anything, his smile growing wider as he chews on his kimbap. 

 

_`_

_“Hey.”_

_Jihoon wakes with a start, realizing he must’ve fallen asleep while he was waiting for Mingyu to come back from the detectives’ office. He looks up and sees the newbie, Seungcheol, holding out a pack of store-bought kimbap towards him._

_“I don’t think the stairwell is a comfortable place to fall asleep on,” Seungcheol remarks, the dimples in his cheeks growing deeper as he grins down at Jihoon, who in turn just rolls his eyes._

_“You want some? I bought a few extra ones and didn’t have anyone else to give them to,” Seungcheol offers._

_“Yeah, thanks,” Jihoon answers, taking the kimbap. He unwraps it and takes a bite, realizing just how hungry he is._

_“Can I—uh, sit with you?” Seungcheol asks, seemingly torn between wanting to just sit down beside Jihoon and waiting for Jihoon to actually allow him._

_“Mingyu’s coming back,” Jihoon replies curtly. “We’re waiting for stories together.”_

_Seungcheol pauses, but immediately nods. He takes out another pack of kimbap from a paper bag and hands it to Jihoon._

_“Give this to him. It’s better if you eat with someone else.”_

 

_`_

“You’re taking care of me way better than the nurses and doctors do,” Seungcheol comments while he watches Jihoon put away the plastic containers. Jihoon frowns at Seungcheol, shaking his head in disagreement. 

“All I did was bring you food. _Unhealthy_ food, in fact,” Jihoon points out. 

“Yeah, but your presence does so much more,” Seungcheol insists. 

“You’re so _cheesy_ , I swear to god,” Jihoon grumbles, pulling a stool from the corner of the room towards the side of Seungcheol’s bed. Seungcheol wastes no time in reaching out and taking Jihoon’s hand in his. 

They sit in silence for a while, Seungcheol toying with Jihoon’s fingers, occasionally stopping to run his thumb over Jihoon’s knuckles. The contrast of Seungcheol’s larger, slightly rougher hand against his more delicate one is something Jihoon takes notice of. Jihoon finds it comforting, despite the fact that Seungcheol’s the one currently in the hospital bed. 

“Is there any news on the suspected arsonist?” Seungcheol asks, fingers slipping in between Jihoon’s. Jihoon pretends his heart doesn’t skip a beat at this. 

“They’re processing the coat for any traces of DNA and they’re also trying to contact the company that’s in charge of the CCTV cameras around the bus station so they can take a look at the footage from the other night,” Jihoon explains, recounting the conversations he had with Detective Kang and a few other officers at the station.

Seungcheol nods, peering up intently at Jihoon. “How about the matchbox? Do you still have it?” 

“No.” Jihoon shakes his head. “I gave it to Kang after I visited you the other night.” 

“And what did he say?” Seungcheol presses. 

“He said I might have given him something that could link all the potential evidence together,” Jihoon says with a heavy sigh. “Kang said if they find DNA on the matchbox and it’s a match with the one on the coat, then they’d have solid proof that the person we encountered the other night is the arsonist.”

Seungcheol gives Jihoon a look, one that Jihoon can’t seem to read. Seungcheol has his lips pursed and it looks like he wants to say something. Jihoon raises both his eyebrows in question. 

“You’re amazing,” Seungcheol finally declares. 

“What?” Jihoon asks dumbly. 

“You’re an amazing journalist,” Seungcheol clarifies. “You pay attention to detail, you’re observant. If you hadn’t kept that matchbox, I’m pretty sure the evidence wouldn’t be as strong as it is now.” 

“They would’ve found DNA on the coat, anyway,” Jihoon denies, eyes focused on Seungcheol’s fingers in between his. Jihoon looks up when he feels Seungcheol tighten his grip. 

“Yeah, but they wouldn’t have anything to compare it with,” Seungcheol insists. “You have to give yourself credit, too, you know.” 

Jihoon quietly nods, squeezing Seungcheol’s hand back. 

“I guess you’re right. Thanks, Seungcheol.” 

Before Seungcheol can reply, a sharp knock interrupts their conversation. 

“Mr. Choi? It’s Dr. Jeon. Can I come in?” 

“Yeah,” Seungcheol replies right away. 

The door opens and standing there is the same doctor Jihoon talked to before visiting Seungcheol the night they were attacked. He’s wearing the same thin wire-rimmed glasses and warm smile, and Jihoon immediately feels at ease despite the slight intrusion. 

“Hello,” Dr. Jeon greets, bowing slightly in Jihoon’s direction. Jihoon smiles politely and bows back. 

“How have you been feeling, Mr. Choi?” Dr. Jeon asks, redirecting his attention to Seungcheol. “Has the medication worked so far?” 

“Yeah, the headache’s stopped,” Seungcheol confirms. 

Jihoon watches as Dr. Jeon scribbles on his clipboard, wondering if he has the same shitty handwriting most doctors seem to have. 

“No nausea or bouts of dizziness?” 

“None at all.” 

The room is silent as Dr. Jeon continues writing occasionally flipping through the various papers attached to his board. 

After a while, he finally looks up and smiles again. 

“Well, in that case,” Dr. Jeon begins, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “I think it’s safe to say you’re allowed to be discharged as early as tomorrow morning,” he declares. “Although, it’s advised that you keep taking your meds until tomorrow, in case the pain reoccurs.”

Seungcheol perks up at the doctor’s announcement, and even Jihoon can’t contain the look of relief on his own face. 

“Thanks, doc,” Seungcheol beams, grinning widely at Dr. Jeon and then over at Jihoon. 

“It’s no problem,” Dr. Jeon says, patting Seungcheol on the shoulder. “Get as much rest as you can tonight, and I’ll see you in the morning.” 

With a final bow, Dr. Jeon exits the room and Jihoon is left with an over-excited Seungcheol. 

“I can get back to work tomorrow,” Seungcheol gushes, shaking Jihoon’s hand like an overjoyed kid. Jihoon suppress a laugh as he watches Seungcheol do a little happy dance. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, though,” Jihoon points out. “You should take at least another day off and stay home.” 

Seungcheol pouts and something seems to tug at Jihoon’s heart. 

“I’m fine,” Seungcheol insists. “I’ve been stuck here for the past two days, and I’ve been itching to get back on my feet.” 

Jihoon chews at his lower lip. Obviously, he’s in no place to tell Seungcheol what to do, but the image of him lying unconscious on the ground still worries Jihoon. 

Seungcheol gives another squeeze to Jihoon’s hand. “Really, I’m okay.” 

“Besides,” Seungcheol adds. “Going back to the station means I get to see you again.” 

What Seungcheol just said takes Jihoon by surprise, his mouth opening and closing in an attempt to formulate a reply. 

“I—uh, well—“ Jihoon stutters. “I-I guess that’s a good thing.” 

Seungcheol giggles and reaches up to take one of Jihoon’s cheeks in between his thumb and index finger, giving it a light pinch. Jihoon protests, swatting Seungcheol’s hand away. They continue this for a while, Seungcheol attempting to poke and pinch at Jihoon’s face while Jihoon tries to avoid his prying fingers. 

“Look, I have to go,” Jihoon announces, standing up. He ignores Seungcheol’s protests and grabs his backpack, swinging it over one shoulder.

“Stay a little longer,” Seungcheol pleads. 

“I can’t. Cap wants a full report on the investigation by tonight,” Jihoon replies, surprised at how disappointed he sounds. 

Seungcheol pouts again, leaving Jihoon undecided whether he wants to punch Seungcheol in the face or cover his own to hide the blush that’s surely forming on his cheeks. 

“Are you presenting live again?” Seungcheol asks. 

Jihoon shakes his head. “No. The news involves myself, so Cap wants me off the TV for a while.” 

“Oh,” Seungcheol realizes. “Right.” 

Jihoon walks backwards towards the door, still facing Seungcheol, waiting for anything else he might want to say before Jihoon leaves. 

“Wait,” Seungcheol calls out. He practically scrambles out of bed and hurriedly approaches Jihoon, arms outstretched, and before Jihoon can even anticipate it, Seungcheol’s pulling him in for a hug.

“Thanks for everything,” Seungcheol mumbles right next to Jihoon’s ear. It tickles and Jihoon squirms, trying to angle himself better so he can hug Seungcheol back. Seungcheol straightens up and tugs Jihoon closer to his chest. 

Then, all of a sudden, Jihoon freezes when he feels Seungcheol press a kiss on his temple.

 Jihoon tightens his arms around Seungcheol’s torso and buries his face deeper into his chest, both embarrassed and endeared by Seungcheol’s actions. 

“What are you doing?” Jihoon asks, hoping his words would be lost in the material of Seungcheol’s hospital gown. 

Seungcheol hums and Jihoon can feel the vibrations from his body. 

“Thanking you,” Seungcheol states. 

Jihoon exhales, eyes closed as he listens to Seungcheol’s steady heartbeat. 

“You’re welcome.”

 

 

`

 

“I think I might like him.”

Mingyu blinks at Jihoon. Once, twice, thrice. Then, he blinks so rapidly it looks like he’s trying to get rid of an eyelash that got stuck in his eye. 

“Who? _Seungcheol-hyung_?” Mingyu nearly demands, leaning closer. 

Jihoon shoves Mingyu away, scowling. 

“Shut up, someone might hear,” Jihoon warns before eyeing the door wearily. 

“No one’s listening,” Mingyu countered. “But, seriously. I thought you weren’t interested?”

Jihoon snorts. “That makes two of us.” 

“You weren’t even _talking_ until a few days ago,” Mingyu reminds. 

“You see, that’s the thing,” Jihoon begins. “We _have_ been talking, but I guess I just didn’t like remembering it.” 

Mingyu pauses, face totally void of any reaction.

“What?” 

Jihoon clicks his tongue in frustration. All this feelings-and-emotions stuff can get so complicated at times. 

“I’ve talked to him before. Quite a few times, even. It’s usually just small talk and quick conversations that die out in like, thirty seconds, so they don’t really stick,” Jihoon explains. “Maybe my brain shoved those times at the back of my mind because I was so determined to make him out as the freeloader I thought he was. But now…” 

“But now,” Mingyu continues, “you like him, so everything’s coming back in the form of a classic ‘oh, he’s always been there, and he’s always been nice, I just didn’t notice because I hated him’ type of montage.” 

Jihoon grabs a nearby packet of ramyeon and throws it at Mingyu. 

“Stop throwing stuff at me!” Mingyu cries out, chucking it back at Jihoon, who catches it before it can hit him. 

“I hate how you’re right,” Jihoon grumbles. 

Mingyu is anything short of satisfied as he laughs and pats Jihoon on the cheek. “The first step is admitting it. You’re halfway there!” 

“I don’t need a pep talk, Mingyu,” Jihoon remarks. “I think I can handle this situation on my own.” 

“Yeah, right,” Mingyu snickers. “But,” Mingyu adds. “It’s so weird how I never noticed.” 

“Too busy with Minghao, I presume,” Jihoon suggests, turning his attention to his laptop and the half-finished report in front of him. 

“I’m not even going to deny that,” Mingyu affirms. 

“Also, Seungcheol’s coming back tomorrow,” Jihoon declares over the continuous clicking of his keyboard. 

“He is?” 

“Yeah,” Jihoon answers. “I told him to take another day off, but he’s not having any of it.”

Mingyu puts a hand over his chest and gives Jihoon the same look proud mothers give their children.

“Aw, he missed you,” Mingyu coos. 

“Okay, I’m gonna need you to stop now,” Jihoon warns before turning his back towards Mingyu and continuing his work.

  

 

`

 

“Hello, this is Gangnam Police Station,” Detective Kang drawls out as he wedges the phone between his shoulder and ear, his hands busy with organizing folders into a box. 

“I have information about the bus company fire in Yongsan,” the voice on the other end declares. Kang straightens up and drops all the files on his desk. 

The detective presses the ‘record’ button on the landline before continuing. “You do?” Kang asks. 

“Yes,” the person answers simply. 

“May I know who I’m speaking to?” Kang inquires. 

There’s a slight pause before the person answers.

“I’m the arsonist’s husband.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long absence, guys :( when life happens, it happens.
> 
> i hope this chapter made up for those four update-less months.


End file.
